About Ino
by genuvalgum
Summary: Story about Ino during the timeskip after the Chunin exams. Read and review.
1. Chapter 1

_Discalamari_ : Teasing.

 _Disclaimer_ : Still don't own this franchise. I want it. Read and review. Tell me my writing sucks or other words. I am flat out fishing to see how this is, as I don't write in general. Now onto the story below. Tsunade suspects and investigates. She brings in the parents for a difficult conversation.

Golden steamers followed the enraged Kage as she finished up with Sensei's stupid child. Asuma had confirmed that Ino was committed to training well but her strength was well below standard. He had just assumed it was normal for his youngest student, _the girl_ , to be tired earlier than the both boys and it was also normal that she gave her portions of _fatty_ Team barbecue to Chōji. Tsunade had needled out that the young blonde was avid about keeping up her appearance, and she did eat, after all, she was on a team with an Akimichi. She just trained a lot longer than both Chōji and Shikamaru but still got tired a lot earlier. It was enough for the Kage it was one thing to only notice and nurture both boys but why couldn't the wind user extend that care for his youngest charge? That small-fry was on Tora duty for the foreseeable future.

Ino was always small for her age, apart from being almost a year younger than everyone else in her graduating class, because she had to be a part of the generational Ino-Shika-Cho. She was meant to round out the legacy. It was no wonder that she was struggling but Inochi adored his girl, and Asami was a flat-out terror of an infiltration specialist; both would maim, kill and torture to protect their little girl but obviously, she had slipped under their notice due to their commitment to the village. Tsunade gently tapped her fist into the door. This was not a conversation she wanted to start by breaking down doors.

"Coming," Asami's voice echoed out from the inner halls of the building. "Tsunade-sama welcome, how can I help you? Did you need Inochi? He just got back from T.I." Asami's peach-lipped smile disappeared with worry lines creasing in her brow as the Sanin appeared in her door.

"I would like to speak with Inochi and yourself, may I come in?" Tsunade continued, "I don't have pleasant news and would like to speak with you both."

"Of course Hokage-sama," she replied as her golden head whipped back to call out " _Inochi, come down please."_ She escorted the Kage to the sitting room. There were lilacs on the table this time. And fresh flowers in all the rooms she could see. Inochi's footsteps were heard on the stairs, Asami turned to the Kage and offered "I'll bring some tea, excuse me" as she rushed to meet her husband on the landing and give him a brief message about their guest. "Please don't trouble yourselves with water" Tsunade called as the couple arranged themselves.

The T.I captain squarely sat across from the Lady after bowing "Hokage-sama what has brought you here?" This wasn't the moment for pleasantries and Tsunade wouldn't have enjoyed the verbal maneuvering at the moment. Asami-san flanked her husband's side as she knelt at the table, corn-blue eyes focused on corn-blue eyes of the last named Senju. The eldest blonde started, "It is about Ino. Did you sign the graduation forms that named Ino-chan an adult upon her completion of the academy?" "No," Inochi and Asami replied in tandem, Asami continued "She has just turned 12 a few months ago, we didn't think she would be ready to claim the adult rights of a shinobi just yet. The boys are also under a provisional license. We all agreed it was better for them all to remain in the provisional license until they formally completed their training in their Clan duties." That was right, it had made the last graduating class more difficult as all the clan heirs had been mostly placed together. It had stacked the odds against all the civilian based kids except Sakura by luck had been placed on Team 7. Only Team 10 was purely composed of all heirs, even their damn leader was his clan's heir until Sensei's young grandchild was old enough to be nominated.

"I want to examine Ino-chan and I am taking her off the active Shinobi list." Tsunade began, "I have reason to believe she is physically unfit to continue in her duties as a Shinobi at this time, and have reason to suspect that she may be ill." The couple exchanged glances communicating hours of conversation in silent partner speech.

Inochi's long hair swished behind him as he turned to address his Lady, "What has happened?" A situation that impaired a Shinobi's judgment serious enough to suspend them from active duty was not something to argue about after all Kohona had turned a blind-eye on the mental strains of Shinobi life long enough to create the Uchiha massacre. He wasn't going to ignore this warning out of misplaced pride.

"My student Sakura Haruno was demonstrating her form and I had noticed that she was significantly weaker than her other year mates, I had thought it was her civilian upbringing that brought out these foolish notions of dieting when I remembered that she fought your daughter in the semi-finals at the last Chunin exams." She was interrupted by Asami, "Because _your apprentice_ was weak **our** Ino has a problem?" "I pulled her medical file. Ino is small for her age and weight class," Tsunade attempted to continue. "I was always thought of as a girl when I was younger the guys never let me forget it. I was small for my age too, and so is Ino. She is just like me," Inochi reasoned. "I understand, and that was why it was let go in the physical but I spoke with her sensei as well. Ino is dieting, calorie restricting, giving her food to Chōji, working out longer than both boys on her team and has less endurance in spite all the extra training."

"I understand but it doesn't mean anything is wrong," Asami continued. "But it raises red flags, Asami-chan. Sakura got the idea to diet and harm herself from Ino, and the only way to find out if Ino is in danger is to examine her. She is young, she spends most of her time alone, with the boys or in the flower shop. She is at risk. Has she ever shown restrictive behaviors at home?" Tsunade persisted "Both of you are so busy with the village, but a civilian raised girl with an almost full-blown eating disorder and hardly any training brought your clan heir to a draw. Will power alone can't do that, Ino both underestimated her and didn't have the reserves of strength to draw on. I think it's time we took a closer look." Asami's eyes narrowed and she rushed to defend her daughter "Stop, Asami she was watching both of us. I skip several meals to try and spend time with you all on weekends and evenings. You are part of infiltration rotation right now, and there is a lot of physical preparation for your role. She may have picked up on it from us. We can talk to her and bring her in for a physical. Chōza can talk to her about nutrition. Tsunade's right. No matter how talented her apprentice might be, Sakura only started training for a year and a half and Ino has been training since she was three. She didn't have the physical strength to beat her. We need to look at this." Born-blue and pupilless blue eyes met and softened conveying love and understanding they turned to meet the Sanin and nodded their consent to let her meet with her young relative.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_ I still don't own the characters.

The next day she returned home from her training trip with the boys and Choza learning about the Big-boulder technique. Ino was finally home. Safe in her room, barely dotted with blue and green bruises from training. She was safe now. Resting off muscle aches and bruised ego. Asami clenched her hands in the fabric flowers patterning her dress. She had mauled them with nerves twisting and plucking at them while she waited at home after she had finished her debrief with her captain. In two hours, she had gone from chiseled and painted with ruddy lips in a flattering dress flirting information out of her mark in Tako-no to being a mother. A very worried mother. Nervous instead of deliberate and controlled. She was so much lighter at home. In the eyes of the Hidden Leaf she was a Clan head's wife: beautiful, enviable with a beautiful healthy living daughter.

She wasn't like the late Lady Hyuuga or Uchiha or even Yoshino-san. She could play the part of dutiful wife, but she still worked in that dark twisted part of Shinobi life. She was a seductress, an impersonator, adaptable enough to get inside someone's head and take their secrets and leave bodies on the floor. Asami had worked so hard to keep her work outside of their home because Inochi deserved better, and Ino needed her to be emotionally available she had to be better for them. She left the dark twisted and unbeautiful parts in the job, Inochi had wanted her to continue her work and leave her destruction and poison on the weak masses and they had never taken the work home. They filled their home with flowers to raise their little princess. She was their miracle baby born against the rules of being actively involved in the Infiltration corps. There was so much scandal in the Clan after Ino was born whether she really was Inochi's after they had only been married seven months that was disproven when they saw her eyes. Only the Yamanaka and Hyuuga had those pupilless eyes and they still squawked after her beautiful daughter and she damn as hell wasn't carrying the Byakugan. As if Asami would be stupid enough to carry a child for that clan who was notorious for kidnapping those _unworthy_ and branding both baby and mother for service as servants. It was when Ino was five and started learning the Clan techniques did they finally stop whispering behind their backs after all surviving the mind arts needed a genetic trait no other clan could handle the strain. No one ever spoke directly to Mother or daughter about the suspicions of her being a bastard, Inochi would have killed them or worse; calmly left them trapped in their nightmares left as vegetable drooling on the floor. Even that sunflower pretty boy had his darkness especially after entering and pillaging the secrets of the nation's enemies. Both golden haired and united in the dark twisted dregs of Kohona.

In the day's following Tsunade-sama's visit Inochi and Asami had spent nights whispering in their bedroom about Ino-chan. Whether they would even let her stay on as a Shinobi or Clan-heir. Mazukado's daughter was pregnant they could pass the title and duties on to another close branch of the main family. Ino wouldn't need to stay in danger and be exposed to this dark world Inochi and Asami belonged. They would lose only a little standing but they had the flower shop and specialized in poisons and trade. Inochi still was a part of the original trio and was on the council. Ino could work and learn safe at home. No dangerous missions, no threats of being raped if captured, no mental and physical torture why not let the rest of these juggernaut clans take the risk? Asami sighed and realized her foolish hopes wouldn't last because Inco climbed everything, every challenge. She scrapped her knees, she beat up Choji's and Shika's bullies, she saw and pulled up Sakura-chan she was never not going to be in the thick of conflict and Inochi had raised his little princess to take heads physically and mentally. Ino had seen the world and she was never going to sit back and not be a part of the fight. Stupid Grandmother Senju. This was not the way she wanted to speak with her Great Aunt. Well third cousin at this point the Senju line was so twisted and buried into the lesser clans of Konoha it was hard to keep track. This was not how Ino should meet the last of the Senju's.

Coral manicured hands glided down her skirt as the heels of her soft hands smoother out the wrinkles in her dress as Asami finally worked up the courage to speak with her firecracker daughter. It would be better to speak her directly and then bring Inochi into the mix. He may walk through the human mind but Ino-chan didn't need a professional she just needed her mother. She made her way up to Ino-chan's room on the upper floor. Her room faced the east wing of the house, strategically nestled in seals and oleander creeping along the outer walls of the house to detract against unwanted visitors. It's grey bark and purple tinged flowers were the perfect deterrent along with strategic air disseminating seals put in place after Cloud's attempted kidnapping nine years ago on another Konoha heiress. "Ino-chan can I come in?" the soft demure voice of a mother ringing out, it still was foreign after all these years. "Sure", Ino replied bright sounding.

TBC.


End file.
